The symbolic leader of the Sunflower River Blues Association, Early Wright, “The Soul Man,” broadcast on WROX Radio for 52 years, and interviewed celebrities from Elvis Presley to Bobby Rush.
| 1991 | Early Wright |
| 1992 | Skip Henderson |
| 1993 | Sid Graves |
| 1994 | Jim O’Neal |
| 1995 | Panny Mayfield |
| 1996 | Lillian S. McMurry |
| 1997 | John Ruskey |
| 1998 | Johnnie Billington & Howard Stovall |
| 1999 | Lew Houston |
| 2000 | Maie Smith |
| 2001 | Yvonne Stanford |
| 2002 | Doris & Sam Carr |
| 2003 | Frank Ratliff/ Sonny Payne |
| 2004 | Catherine Clark |
| 2005 | Nat McMullen |
| 2006 | Red Paden |
| 2007 | John Sherman |
| 2008 | Steve Ladd |
| 2009 | Dr. Frank T. and Rita Marascalco |
| 2010 | Wade Fondren |
| 2011 | Shelley Ritter |
| 2012 | Morgan Freeman/Bill Luckett |
| 2013 | Roger Stolle |
| 2014 | Harold Pontez |
| 2015 | Ginger Johnson/True Value Hardware William H. Gresham, Jr. |
| 2016 | Paul Wilson |
| 2017 | Charlie Musselwhite |
| 2018 | James ”Super Chikan” Johnson |
| 2019 | Anthony Saffold |
| 2020 | No Award due to Covid-19 |
| 2021 | Samuel Davis / Margaret Jordan Walker |
| 2022 | Coahoma Community College |
| 2023 | Bill Howl-N-Madd Perry |
| 2024 | Dr. Patricia “Patty Johnson |
Julius Guy, a community leader and activist for Clarksdale youth, co-founded the Sunflower River Gospel Festival with Melville Tillis.
| 1994 | James Julius Guy |
| 1995 | Rev Wars Carter |
| 1996 | Rev Willie Morganfield |
| 1997 | Melville Tills |
| 1998 | Johnnie Kennard |
| 1999 | Kenneth Lackey |
| 2001 | James Williams |
| 2002 | Norman Collins |
| 2003 | Edwin Fox |
| 2003 | Revered Lloyd Jackson |
| 2024 | Edwin fox |
| 2005 | Nancy Forte |
| 2006 | Dot Johnson |
| 2008 | Rose Williams |
| 2007 | Nathaniel Jackson |
| 2008 | Kevin Towers |
| 2009 | Christopher |
| 2010 | CV Veal |
| 2011 | Claudette Williams |
| 2012 | Rev Marvin Myles |
| 2013 | Chapel Hill Men’s Chorus |
| 2014 | Sons lf Wonder |
| 2015 | Myra Turner/P. J. Walker |
| 2016 | Terry Carr |
| 2017 | Marge Harris |
| 2018 | Locust Grove M.B. Church Morning Star M.B. Church |
| 2019 | Minister Ricky Burton & 4ever Grateful |
| 2020 | No Award due to Covin-19 |
| 2021 | Annie Bell Revel |
| 2022 | Pator E L. Martin III |
| 2023 | Earless Yvette Anderson |
| 2024 | Rev L. C. Tyler II |
